EDITORIAL – Which lock is right for me? How to choose the right lock for your locker

This question sounds easy at first but look into the options in a bit more detail and you’ll see that most locker locks have pros and cons making it often a choice between two or three good options none of which are right or wrong.

The questions you need to ask are: do we want to have keys to manage? are the locker locks going to be used by more than one person? how often will the locker change hands? what is our budget for locks?

The answers to these questions will determine what lock is right for you but rather than look at this as a choice of locks based on personal preference lets take a look at the options based on sector and what from our experience works best. What works well in the Gym won’t necessarily work well in the local School or for staff in a restaurant.

School and Education Locker Locks

This is relatively easy, by far the best option for a school is the 4 digit reprogrammable combination lock. No keys to manage (euphemism for kids losing their keys

constantly) and no padlocks to bolt cut off or confiscate before they are used as a projectile. The combination lock can be reprogrammed by the students to their

own unique code. A master key overrides the code in emergencies. As the locks are reprogrammable at the end of the school year the locks can be reset ready for

the next year group to come in to use them.

Office and Leisure Locker Locks

The correct lock in this situation depends greatly on how you use the lockers. Are they multi user lockers? Do you want tracability? Do staff already have an RFID card?

Are you trying to create a specific feel or quality environment, make a statement? There are so many options, why not give us a call and we can discuss your specific project

in detail. We specialise in provide custom solutions, we have a lock that will work for you.

Retail and Industrial Locker Locks

Again the main question to is ask is are the locker multi user lockers or will the same person always use the same locker. If it is the same person it comes down to a preference as to

whether you want staff to use a key, a padlock or a combination lock to get access to the locker. There are pros and cons to each. Key locks are cheap but you will have to replace keys

from time to time when people lose them or leave. Padlocks are a good option as you don’t need to worry about managing keys and if someone leaves you just bolt cut it off ready for the next user.

Combination locks are more expensive up front but save a lot of hassle down the line, no keys, no bolt cutters just a lock that each person sets their own code for.

If the lockers are for shift workers or multiple users then a coin return lock is a good option, the lock keeps the key captive until a user inserts a coin. When they put the key back in they get their

coin back and the key is trapped ready for the next user. Combination locks can also be used in multi user environments.